I wouldn’t say it three times fast, but the Peak Perks program is an energy efficiency program that means families will have yet another tool to help them with their energy bills. Families are going to receive a $75 financial incentive this year for lowering their energy use at peak times, and they can receive it in future years, as well, if they remain in the program—a $20 incentive. That’s good for families, and it’s really good for our grid. And this new program—

Interjections.

We’re bringing in an—

Interjections.

Congratulations to the member opposite on his Peterborough Petes winning the OHL Championship last week.

As usual, the member is correct. I know from my time as a critic on that side, Ontarians felt helpless as they watched their hydro bills just skyrocket on a monthly basis.

Then, in 2018, we took office. We began taking steps to reduce the costs and empower customers to lower their costs. We implemented the Ontario Electricity Rebate, the OER, which is lowering the cost of electricity by 12%. We introduced more customer choice. We gave customers the power to take control of their hydro bills with the Green Button standard being implemented right across, possibly saving customers up to 18%. Electricity customers also will soon have the right, and they do in some jurisdictions, to have an ultra-low overnight rate. I’m going to have more to say about the Peak Perks program coming up in my supplementary.

Interjections.

Thanks to the member from Peterborough, and congratulations to his Petes on advancing to the OHL final against the London Knights.

Since day one, our government has been working hard to make sure that life is more affordable for the people of Ontario, particularly on the energy file.

That’s why, last fall, I was pleased to announce $4.5 million for the Clean Home Heating Initiative, where members of his community in Peterborough; members in London, home of the Knights; members in St. Catharines, home of the IceDogs; and members in Sault Ste. Marie, home of the Greyhounds, can apply to get a hybrid home heating system. Just last week, I was pleased to join the Attorney General and the member from Barrie–Innisfil in Barrie—home of the Colts—to announce that our government is bringing that investment up to a total of $8.2 million, so that we can offer this additional program to another 500 homes across the city.

This is great news for energy bills, but it’s also great news for the environment.

Our government is excited to provide this opportunity to more communities and more homeowners across the province to lower not just their home energy bills, but also do their part for the environment and reduce emissions. The Clean Home Heating Initiative is going to allow most households to leverage Ontario’s world-class green energy, clean energy grid that we have to both heat and cool their homes with a hybrid heat pump that switches between electricity and natural gas. Switching to hybrid home heating could save them about $300 a year on their energy bills. That’s a significant amount. They would also be cutting their emissions by a third, which is great news for the environment.

We know that people across the province want to have more choice, and we’ve been providing that. People across the province want to have more control over their monthly costs, especially on their energy bills, and I’m proud to say that the Ontario government is delivering on that.

Thanks to the member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke. I appreciate it.

Speaker, he is quite correct: We’ve been hard at work putting families back in charge of their energy bills since we formed the government back in 2018. We started by introducing customer choice on electricity plans, allowing Ontarians to choose a price plan that makes sense for them—either a time-of-use or tiered rate. We also introduced the Green Button program, which is being rolled out right across Ontario as we speak, and will be in full implementation in November.

Now we’ve taken the next step. Last week, down at Toronto Hydro, I had the opportunity to inform the public about our ultra-low overnight electricity rate, which, starting on May 1, customers in the member’s own riding in Renfrew and in Toronto and London and Centre Wellington and Wasaga—I’m sure it was a great weekend at the beach up there, Mr. Speaker. They can opt in on this new plan, the ultra-low overnight rate, that’s going to be available province-wide in the coming months.

Unlike the former Liberal government, which sold clean, night-time power to neighbouring jurisdictions, many times at a loss, our government is coming up with innovative ways to use that power and shift demand in the province in the overnight period, which will make our grid more efficient, saving our electricity grid up to $5.7 million which, at the end of the day, isn’t just going to save those folks who adopt the ultra-low overnight rate, it’s going to save every electricity customer in the province money on their bill.

I want to thank the member from Whitby for that great question this morning. We have cleaned up the Liberal hydro mess, but we’re still doing more under the leadership of Premier Ford.

I’m pleased to inform the House this morning that as of today, we’re raising the income eligibility threshold for Ontario’s Energy Affordability Program by almost $12,000 for a family of four, $8,000 per couple. That’s going to mean thousands of additional families in Ontario can receive free home efficiency upgrades like insulation, like smart thermostats, energy-efficient refrigerators and air conditioners. These free upgrades can help eligible families save up to $750 a year on their energy bills, while also conserving energy and maintaining overall reliability of Ontario’s electricity grid.

The Energy Affordability Program has already provided free upgrades to about 47,000 families across Ontario, and with today’s announcement we’re going to help a whole lot more.

At the same time, we’re saving the average residential family $168 per year in the Ontario Electricity Rebate—lots of programs, Mr. Speaker. While families had to choose between heating and eating when the Liberal government was in charge in Ontario, we have stabilized rates. We stabilized our electricity system, and we’re providing targeted supports to families that really need the help.

The folks at OPG are world leaders when it comes to providing clean, reliable, affordable nuclear power to our province, from the large-scale Candu reactors that we have in Ontario to, now, the development of the new small modular reactor that’s going to be developed at Darlington. Our government has continued to watch what’s happening down at Point Lepreau with OPG and we will inform the House all the way along. But again, I just want to confirm to the member opposite, we’re not going to sign bad deals like these guys that you supported did. We’re going to—

Yesterday, we signed a massive, massive deal in Port Hope—the member’s home riding—at Cameco, a $2.8-billion deal to extend the Candu fuel contract with Bruce Power, one of the largest nuclear facilities in the entire world right here in Ontario, a facility that has been providing clean, reliable, affordable nuclear power. I have to ask the member opposite, why would he oppose a technology that is providing clean, reliable electricity—60% of Ontario’s power every day? Why do the NDP not support our nuclear fleet?